A Sandy Springs mother accused of killing her 1-year-old daughter in May 2023 was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Fulton County Superior Court.
Judge Shukura L. Ingram issued the ruling on April 18 in the case regarding the charges against Asia Calabrese-Lawis, according to the judge’s order. Court records state that the defendant was mentally ill with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. She has suffered from depression most of her life, the documents said.
“At the time of the alleged offenses the Defendant did not have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong and that she acted because of a delusional compulsion (as a result of her mental illness) which overmastered her will to resist committing the crime,” Ingram said in her order.
Calabrese-Lewis was committed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for an evaluation of her present mental condition, according to court documents. The agency will submit a report on her mental condition, including if she meets the criteria for civil commitment.
Rough Draft Atlanta reported that Sandy Springs Police responding to a disturbance call at 2 Concourse Parkway on May 12, 2023 found Calabrese-Lewis in the parking deck. She appeared to be having a breakdown, police reported. After the child’s father arrived and asked where their daughter was, Calabrese-Lewis said she was deceased in a pool.
Nirvana Oliver was found in a pond and rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she was pronounced dead.
Calabrese-Lewis had been charged with first-degree cruelty to children and felony murder.
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